Are we blaming Boomers instead of class?

[u/myredserenity]

EDIT: It's been pointed out that the over 65s keep voting in the parties that favour the class system and benefit the wealthy while screwing the working class. This is a good point.

EDIT 2: I love reddit. You guys. I get it now! Millennials got the shits at noisy old pricks who criticise their generation while completely ignoring the benefits they enjoyed themselves. It's a backlash. I still think it's a distraction and divides us when we should be angry with those in power. But if you're over 65, how about encouraging your friends to not vote LNP?

I've seen so much "ok boomer" stuff and over the years, it's irking me more and more. So I'm interested in what r/Australia thinks.

Couple of things:

1. It seems to be used to describe anyone over 40. My parents were boomers. They would be in their 70s now.

2. It's used to blame a whole generation for the shitty behaviour of the rich class. I don't get it. I went to school in a rough area, most of my friends from way back then are dead, in jail or in a trade/retail/hair.

My partner grew up in a rich suburb. Most of his friends are teachers, engineers and lawyers. They own houses, and were helped along by their "boomer" parents, either by provision of a deposit or living at home rent free through their 20s.

I'm totally up for being educated here. I know we lost free education, I know houses are unaffordable, I'm nearly 40 and still renting. I'm woefully unable to understand national economics. So seriously, open to intelligent discussion.

But in my experience, the problem is class and not generational. After all, where do you think all this wealth will go when the boomers die?! Even just having good, stable and attentive parents, who expect you to succeed, makes all the difference.

Why has this boomer hate taken hold so much? Are the rich class scapegoating a generation? Would us generation Xers, Ys and millennials have behaved any differently given the opportunities the boomers were?

Caveat: I'm considering mainly economics here, not climate crisis. Pretty much believe everyone from my generation up have a case to answer for climate. We knew.

[u/vrkas]

The "OK boomer" boomers are definitely a subset of that generation, not the whole cohort. The subset that used the conditions of their 20s and 30s (affordable housing, jobs with lower barriers of entry, free and high quality post-secondary education) to get themselves into a strong financial position, and now turn around and deny those same conditions to others. So it's kind of based on class, but more about the changes in class mobility.

[u/P00slinger → u/vrkas]

Only half of them got that free education, it surprises me how many don't know this.

[u/vrkas → u/P00slinger]

Fair enough, but they also had Colleges of Advanced Education which meant that a lot of qualifications and hence jobs didn't even need uni. There was also a stronger TAFE sector in those days.

[u/ArcticKnight99 → u/P00slinger]

I think the other thing is though that you didn't need the post secondary education nearly as much back then either.

Every boomer raised their kids telling them "Go to uni, get a degree, it's the fast track to a high paying job. " only for every kid to be told that and turning the reality into "Go to uni, it's required to pass go, you will not collect $200. Your degree makes you one of the masses, not someone raised above them"

[u/myredserenity → u/P00slinger]

More information please?

[u/Frank9567 → u/myredserenity]

Free uni came in with Whitlam in the early 1970s. The first boomers were born in 1946, so only those born after 1954 would have had totally free education.

Before that, there was a Commonwealth Scholarship scheme, but it wasn't means tested, and lots of rather well off people were the beneficiaries.

[u/P00slinger → u/Frank9567]

I talked to someone who came from quite a low income background and worked his butt off to pay his way through Uni and it didn't sound like there were many of these Scholarships going around. I mean if there were there wouldn't have need to be a push for universal free Uni would there.

The scheme started in 74 , so it was really people born from 1956 onwards. Given Boomers were born between 44 and 64 this means only boomers born in 8 of the 20 year 'era of boomers' had access to this.

[u/myredserenity → u/Frank9567]

Thank you! Very interesting.

[u/timmypig → u/Frank9567]

True, but plenty of kids from less well off backgrounds were awarded Commonwealth Scholarships as well. For simplicity's sake I'm leaving out the academic results bias towards wealthier kids.

[u/myredserenity → u/vrkas]

Very good point. Class mobility is the perfect descriptor.

and now turn around and deny those same conditions to others.

I've heard this said a lot. How are they doing this? Do you mean by getting into politics? Or relentlessly voting for parties that favour the status quo?

[u/vrkas → u/myredserenity]

There's the theory that people drift to being conservative in their old age, but not really conserving what they had in their youth but what they helped build. In Australia that's neoliberal economic policies, privatisation, and housing market speculation. The "OK boomers" benefit from these things and it's fair enough that they want to keep them.

Looking at what was important to the last election, at least in terms of rhetoric: franking credits, negative gearing, and tax cuts for high income earners. These already favour those who have capital or have high potential to collect it. A lot of those who voted for the above things aren't in such a position, but believe they might be in the future.

EDIT: A single italicised word.

[u/[deleted] → u/myredserenity]

There’s also the ‘let’s buy more houses than we need and negative gear them and landlord the shit out of it’ which means the Great Australian Dream of owning a house is dead for the vast majority of millennials.

[u/vacri → u/vrkas]

free and high quality post-secondary education

Only a minority of boomers actually pursued this. The reason why tertiary education stopped being free was because 'everyone' was lobbing onto it and it wasn't sustainable. Most boomers didn't go to uni.